Long story short, I'm a Floridan who hasn't had many opportunities to leave the state because of my career but thanks to a weekend + Holiday + 2 Personal Days, I'm gonna pay Portland, OR a visit for Labor Day.

So far my plans are:
- Sunday afternoon at the Art in the Pearl Festival then visit Powell's Technical Books.
- Monday, all morning at Cannon Beach and Enola State Park, and then the Museum of Science and Industry.
- Tuesday, doing two "Portland Walking Tours" - Best of Portland & Underground Portland, visiting the gardens, and browsing at the Powell's City of Books. Flying home Wednesday morning.

How does this itinerary sound so far? Can anyone recommend any other sights a techie/photographer like me would enjoy?

And is there anything for a non-drinker/partier to do at night? I'm going alone and on a small budget but I want to enjoy the town as much as possible.

Thanks to all in advance

You can browse both Powell's on the same day and perhaps even do the Classical Chinese Garden the same day, since they are all in the same general area (Pearl and Old Town/Chinatown). Granted, some people spend hours and hours at Powell's, but if the weather is nice, you may wish to spend more time outside and just spend a bit of time at each location.

If like old computers, consider a stop at Free Geek in SE Portland (would have to be Tuesday, they are closed Sunday and Monday). This is a big Portland recycling facility that takes computer donations and re-distributes usable stuff back to the community (with Linux on them). You can get a tour - it's pretty cool if like enjoy old computer junk. There's also a little thrift store where some of us shop for miscellaneous computer stuff we need. (There are also some old computers at the Powell's Tech books as well so check them out while you are there.)

Not sure which walking tours you are doing, but NW Portland is pretty cool; so is SE Hawthorne (not far from Free Geek). Nearby is Mt. Tabor Park, an old extinct volcano (you'd never know, looks like a huge hill) that is kind of cool to visit and wander around.

Great photo ops: near OMSI (Museum of Science and Industry) offers great classic shots of the Portland skyline; if you have time, walk up and down the eastbank esplanade from there to see all of the downtown (which is surprisingly tiny) and our numerous bridges. Shooting from the International Rose Test Garden/Washington Park gives you another classic Mt. Hood/cityscape view although not much snow on the mountains right now. Pittock Mansion near the Rose Garden also has great views for photos of Portland and the mountains (you can go in the mansion but even the grounds outside are really nice). If you want to go to the highest point in Portland, go to Council Crest Park which is a few miles from the Rose Garden.

And if you love bridges, venture out Highway 30 west a bit from downtown to see the magnificent St. Johns Bridge, a suspension bridge that reminds you a bit of a (green) miniature Golden Gate Bridge. You don't see the bridge from downtown.

Oh...and the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland about 35 minutes is spectacular, breathtaking, with great views and waterfalls in the woods. I'd personally try to sneak in a few hours to see at least some of that. Many tourists stop off I-84 only at Multnomah Falls, the most visited tourist spot in Oregon, and on Labor Day weekend it will be overflowing, but the other waterfalls are barely less spectacular but slightly harder to get to, via the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway. A quick tour could from Portland could be done in about three hours and it will probably be a highlight of your trip.

Thank you for taking time out to reply. I'll definitely look into all those spots!

On reflection, if you are seeking out something to do in the evenings, you might save that time to spend at Powell's, which is open til 11PM every night I believe. (Not the tech books store though.) There's even a little coffee shop where you can browse books. And then do the outdoorsy stuff during the days, assuming nice weather.

Hi, when you go to Ecola State Park, take the scenic drive back to Indian Beach, this is a photographer's heaven! You may also want to go to Haystack Rock, one of the most photographed icons on the Oregon Coast. If you have the time, Oswald West State Park is awesome, you can take a short hike down to Short Sands Beach for the "wow" factor. I hope you have a great time on your travels and with your photography hobby! ***kim***

Thanks for the excellent tips everyone. I just finished mapping all the spots on Google Maps and researching other spots to visit.

It looks like I'll be lucky if I squeeze everything on the coast into one day but I'll give it a shot. Heres my latest polished itinerary:

Sunday - Flying in at 10:30
??? to ??? - Art in the Pearl Festival
http://www.artinthepearl.com/
??? to ??? - Exploring Old Town/Chinatown
??? to ??? - Classical Chinese Garden
??? to 7:00pm - Powell's Technical Bookstore (closes at 7pm)
7PM to late - Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade

Monday
5:30 to 7:30am - Forest Park Trails
8:00 to ????am - International Rose Test Garden & Japanese Garden
??? to 2:00pm Explore Town, Lunch, etc.
2:00 to 4:30pm - Underground Portland Tour
http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/...d_portland.php

(TriMet's OMSI Shuttle bus is a quick and convenient way to get to and from OMSI. From July 13 through September 1, 2008, the shuttle will run every 15 minutes from 9:10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily between the Oregon Convention Center MAX Station and OMSI.)
5:00 to 6:30pm - Museum of Science and Industry
7:30 - 11:00pm - Powell's City of Books & Technical

Tuesday
Starting at 6AM
Oswald West State Park/
Short Sands Beach

then

Cannon Beach (eatting at Mo's)/
Haystack Rock

then

Ecola State Park/
Indian Beach

then

Powell's City of Books (after sundown till 11PM)

Wednesday - Flying out at 7AM


I had to pass up on Multinomah Falls, Pittock Manson, Free Geek, and Council Crest Park because I couldn't find a reasonable travel path that goes in their direction.

Council Crest takes longer to drive up to than Pittock Mansion, which is just off W. Burnside not far from Washington Park and the Rose Garden. It's just another great viewpoint down on the city and the grounds are nice, but you don't have to go into the house. If you are tight on time you can skip it. Just know that from Washington Park you may not get as clean a shot of the city as you can from Pittock Mansion.

If you are staying near the Convention Center then the OMSI shuttle will be extremely useful; otherwise, you can take any number of buses from near OMSI back into downtown and that will be faster than taking the Shuttle back to the MAX station. The green lift bridge to the north of OMSI is called the Hawthorne Bridge, and if you go up to the road level from underneath, you can get right on the #4, #6, or #10 bus into downtown. Depends where you are headed next whether that's faster than the OMSI shuttle. You can walk from OMSI across the Hawthorne Bridge (which you may find a scenic walk way) into downtown in all of 15 minutes.

If you plan to use the bus system in Portland, I highly recommend visiting Google Transit - www.google.com/transit - to plot out bus/train routes on Google maps. Very handy.

If you're planning to photograph, I'd put Haystack first on the list for the day at the coast. Great in morning light, especially if you're early enough to catching sunrise on it.

And though I think Oswald West/Short Sands are well worth a visit, if photography is the intent, I think you'd prefer beaches like Hug Point, where the old roadway is carved into the hillside just above the crashing waves, or even Arcadia Beach, which has a few small seastacks, for added interest. Short Sands is mainly a surfer's beach; nice for sure, but there are better spots if you're looking for landscapes. Kimamom, what do you see as the "wow" factor at Short Sands?

Same is true of Indian Beach; another popular surfing beach. I've gotten nice shots from/near the large rocks at the south end, but I wouldn't call Indian Beach a "photographer's heaven." Other parts of Ecola State Park for sure, but Indian Beach? Kimamom? Or did you just recommend the two beaches where your husband and kids surf because you don't know of any others?

Too bad you can't fit in a trip out the Columbia River Gorge. Like Andrew, I think it could be a highlight of the trip, if only you spent a couple hours around Wahkeena Falls.

Alrighty, I'm making all my final plans now, printing itineraries and all that fun stuff. I hope it goes well!

The only change I've made is that I'll be riding on the Portland Spirit Cruise on Sunday night.

And I'm a bit weary about seeing both Short Sands Beach AND Indian Beach when I can probably see just one beach. I want to divert my travel plans to see sights around the Columbia River Gorge but it might be a bit late for that. We'll see...

Thanks again everyone!

Actually, if I play my cards right, I can do the Columbia River Gorges. All I need is any info since I'm making this change last minute. All reservations have already been adjusted...

I just redid my itinerary a bit. A bit more structured but thats okay. If anyone has any additional info on the Columbia River Gorge (thanks rbV5!), that'd be awesome. I'm making all these changes last-minute...

Sunday - Flying in at 10:30
1:00 to 2:30 - Art in the Pearl Festival (http://www.artinthepearl.com/)
3:00 to 8:00pm - Columbia River Gorge
8PM to late - Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade

Monday
7:30 to 11:00am - International Rose Test Garden & Japanese Garden
??? to ??? - Exploring Old Town/Chinatown
12:15 to 1:30 - Classical Chinese Garden
2:00 to 4:30pm - Underground Portland Tour (http://www.portlandwalkingtour...erground_portland.php)

6:30 to 9:30pm - Portland Spirit Cruise
9:30 to 11:00pm - Powell's City of Books

Tuesday

Ecola State Park/
Indian Beach

then

Cannon Beach (eatting at Mo's)/
Haystack Rock

then

Exploring Downtown
Free Geek in SE Portland (closes at 7PM)
Powell's Technical Bookstore (closes at 9pm)
Powell's City of Books (Closes at 11pm)

Wednesday - Flying out at 7AM

I copy-pasted this post. Sorry if anything in the above post doesnt make any sense..

Thanks for the reminder about Art in the Pearl. Always some interesting stuff there.

My only comment; why the Portland Spirit Cruise? You'll have spent that afternoon in Old Town and the Pearl, so why not have dinner in the area too. Lots of good restaurant choices with much better food.

If you are planning to do the Gorge on Sunday, I would go directly from the airport when you first arrive - especially if the weather is clear. Otherwise, you're going to waste time driving into downtown, then back past (almost) the airport east to the Gorge, then west back to downtown again. Plus, you plan to be done at 8 in the Gorge, when it will be getting dark anyway.

Ground Control is basically a block away from Art in the Pearl. So it seems like a lot of backtracking. I assume Art in the Pearl will be going on Monday still when you are a few blocks away at the Chinese Garden? Can't you do Art and the Chinese Garden the same day?

FYI, there's not much to "explore" in Old Town/Chinatown except the Chinese Garden. "Chinatown" in Portland is kind of a joke - most of the Chinese people left decades ago. The garden is terrific but occupies all of one square block. What remains is a few blocks of Chinese restaurants, abandoned porn shops, homeless shelters, etc. I would plan to visit Art in the Pearl at this time before/after you visit the Chinese Garden.

You won't like your photo ops of the International Rose Test Garden at 7:30am (except of the roses themselves), because the sun is to the east; any pics of downtown/Mt. Hood will be washed out. Mid-afternoon is really the best time to shoot up there. Then again, the Garden won't be very crowded at 7:30am. Take your pictures from the Rose Garden just before you leave the area, not when you first arrive...

As for the Gorge: the typical tour consists of heading east on I-84 and getting off in Troutdale and taking the Historic Columbia River Scenic Highway up past the viewpoints into the Gorge, then into the woods, past several waterfalls, and ending at Multnomah Falls (or continuing on to other falls). If you aren't hiking, you can do this loop in about three hours including travel time; add much extra time as you'd like to hike at various spots such as Latourell Falls. Multnomah Falls will be packed with people - probably not a great day to hike around there.

You can skip the first part of the Scenic Highway (not extremely scenic) and continue east on I-84 to the Corbett exit, drive up the hill and then pick up (turn left) the Scenic Highway there; soon after you get on it you'll hit the viewpoints, the Women's Forum etc.

Sounds like a great plan, we just spent the night at the Benson Hotel, it was wonderful. If you get a chance, get up to the Portland City Grill to look at the city lights, they were beautiful! Our dinner at Andina was also perfect and our breakfast at the Bijou Cafe was fun, loved the oyster hash! I hope you have a great time in Portland, it's rainy here in Seaside right now! ***kim***

Thanks everyone for the great advice, my trip went very very well. I'm not good at telling stories but here's what I ended up doing:

Sunday - Flying in at 10:30
11am - Immediately headed for the Columbia Gorge. I hiked up 2 or three waterfalls and did several trails along the way.
7pm - Crossed Bridge of the Gods and headed for the hotel via the other side of the Columbia to check-in.
11pm - Wondered downtown and found Ground Kontrol along the way.

Monday
8AM - Woke up late and couldn't find the rail-way to the Japanese Gardens, went to Oregon Zoo instead
11pm - Art in the Pearl Festival
2pm - Underground Portland Tour
6:30pm - Portland Spirit Sightseeing Cruise

Tuesday
Woke up Late again
10am - Took a Detour off Hwy26 to hike Saddle Mountain
12pm - Ecola State Park
1pm - Hiked down to Crescent Beach (This hard to reach beach took my breathe away)
4pm - Indian Beach
5pm - Lunch at Bill's Tavern and Brewhouse - Good food, poor service but it was the least expensive place I could find.
6pm - A quick stroll along Cannon Beach and visiting Haystack Rock

Back at the hotel at 9:30
I really wanted to visit the Powell's books stores but my two favorite genre's of books (Technical and Home & Garden) were closing shop in 30 minutes. I decided to stay in and pack up...

Wednesday - Flew out at 6AM


My only regret was not studying the maps hard enough. I lost precious hours driving and walking aimlessly through town. That aside, I had an awesome time and have 700 photos to show for it

Thank you everyone!

Sounds like a great time! We have had some absolutely gorgeous beach weather here the past couple of days. Yesterday at Ecola was nice for surfing, today we spent the majority of the day sunning at different beaches here in Seaside. ***kim***